The Padres Are Not Worried About Sustainability

PEORIA, Ariz. — Bob Melvin couldn’t have identified that puzzle-building was going to be an important talent when he signed on to handle the San Diego Padres. But with a rollicking roster full of top-shelf expertise, and an virtually absurd abundance of shortstops, right here he’s, items tumbling from the field and strewn all around the desk.

Xander Bogaerts’s arrival as a free agent this low season made clear that one of many spring’s trickiest points could be becoming all these items collectively. The Padres have what shall be one in every of Major League Baseball’s 4 highest payrolls in 2023, in keeping with Spotrac, but the group will regularly be enjoying as many as 4 gamers out of place.

They have been so aggressive that immediately’s plan usually adjustments with tomorrow’s dawn. The newest instance got here Sunday when a looming story line for the group — Manny Machado’s anticipated opt-out after the season — was eradicated by his agreeing to phrases on a brand new 11-year, $350 million deal, the small print of which have been confirmed by an individual on situation of anonymity as a result of the deal has but to be formally introduced.

Now, Machado (signed by 2033), Bogaerts (2033) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (2034) will presumably develop outdated collectively in San Diego as each Machado and Bogaerts have full no-trade clauses. Those offers, and the potential for a fair greater one for outfielder Juan Soto, who is 2 seasons away from free company, have led many to marvel how the Padres can probably afford to pay for all of these stars on a long-term foundation.

The Padres’ proprietor, Peter Seidler, mentioning that “there is a risk to doing nothing, too,” is working to fend off criticism about how “sustainable” this plan is.

“People love that word,” he mentioned of sustainability. “Let’s find a different one. Do I believe our parade is going to be on land or on water or on both?

“Putting a great and winning team on the field in San Diego year after year is sustainable.”

First, the group might want to type out its numerous items. The domino impact begins with the set up of Bogaerts at shortstop, which implies final 12 months’s shortstop, Ha-Seong Kim, will slide over to second base. And final 12 months’s second baseman, Jake Cronenworth, will transfer to first base.

When Tatis, the group’s beginning shortstop from 2019 to 2021, returns from his performance-enhancing-drug suspension on April 20, he’s anticipated to play proper discipline. Soto, who performed proper discipline for the Padres after a commerce from the Washington Nationals final season, will transfer to left.

It is the kind of scenario that might result in confusion, bruised egos and what might really feel like a 1,000-piece field of sad gamers.

Cronenworth downplayed that concept.

“We all can’t wear the same glove at the same position, but we can all contribute wherever we’re playing that day,” he mentioned.

That perspective is almost definitely the results of Melvin’s having begun a prolonged collection of delicate conversations many weeks in the past. He has been happy on the total response to this point.

“They said, ‘Look, we just want to help our team win,’” Melvin mentioned. “And just because Kim’s going to get a lot of reps at second doesn’t mean he might not end up with shortstop on days Xander gets off. And then Croney’s going to play second again as opposed to first. So in the overall look right now, there are some conversations. But there haven’t been any difficult ones to this point.”

For years, groups with glossy, athletic outfields have favored the outdated cliché: “It’s like we have three center fielders.” Uniquely, the Padres will line up a group of shortstops. Not solely is that the pure place of Bogaerts, Kim and Tatis, however Cronenworth additionally performed shortstop on the University of Michigan. Even Machado was a star shortstop in his Baltimore days.

The glut of infield choices makes Tatis’s transfer to the outfield really feel pretty everlasting, and, in contrast to the final time the group tried this, it isn’t contentious. Back in 2021, after a dislocated shoulder popped out a number of instances, Tatis was despatched by the Padres to the outfield for twenty-four video games through the second half of that season in hopes of conserving him more healthy.

He didn’t seem to benefit from the transfer, and his usually energetic recreation dimmed.

“I was frustrated with myself because of my health issues,” Tatis mentioned of the notable downturn.

During his suspension, which together with accidents price him the complete 2022 season, Tatis, 24, addressed a few of his well being considerations. He underwent surgical procedure to restore the shoulder and a revision process on his left wrist, which he fractured in a bike crash in December 2021. He is absolutely wholesome this spring, however he has not performed in a significant league recreation since Oct. 3, 2021.

Bogaerts, 30, identified that enjoying shortstop can take an enormous toll on the physique and cited Tatis’s earlier accidents as a great purpose to strive one thing new, as a result of, he mentioned, “this is a guy that the team, and the game in general, wants to see on the field as much as possible.”

Bogaerts, who endured his personal stint of being moved off his main place in 2014, mentioned he was initially surprised when the Padres, who already had Tatis signed to a long-term deal, approached him with what grew to become an 11-year, $280 million provide. But Tatis, due to his myriad points over the previous two seasons, had misplaced any leverage to quibble about the place he performs on the sphere.

“I knew from the beginning that they were trying to make the team better,” Tatis mentioned of the acquisition of Bogaerts. “Xander is a great player. I knew he would be a key to us winning a World Series.”

Tatis mentioned he was “prepared for everything.” Mostly, he’s working within the outfield — Bogaerts cited Tatis’s arm as an enormous asset in proper discipline — and when requested whether or not he thought he would return to shortstop in the future, Tatis mentioned he didn’t know.

“A lot of stuff happens in this game,” he mentioned. “You can’t be surprised. I’m just going to be ready wherever they tell me they need me.”

Machado’s new deal appears to minimize the percentages of such a return. Bogaerts, to many, had represented insurance coverage in case Machado opted out after this season. If that had occurred, Bogaerts may have moved to 3rd base, making room for Tatis at shortstop, however that path now seems blocked.

Even with the group’s defensive positioning having been determined for the foreseeable future, the current for San Diego is difficult by the Padres having a number of gamers, together with Bogaerts, Kim and Machado, on the verge of leaving for the World Baseball Classic. The time away will restrict the chance for the double-play mixture of Bogaerts and Kim to achieve familiarity. And Kim, who’s statistically the group’s finest defensive choice at shortstop, will pause his improvement at second base to play his pure place for Korea.

“That’s the part I worry about the most, is maybe them not getting as many reps together,” Melvin mentioned of his infielders.

Regardless of how the items match collectively, the gathering of stars had led to a sense in San Diego that the group, which performed within the National League Championship Series in October, is on the verge of one thing particular. The membership capped season ticket gross sales for the primary time in historical past, at roughly 24,000, and has a ready record. The Padres seem poised to attract three million followers for less than the second time in membership historical past and will set a membership document.

It is the kind of surge that has Machado, 30, scoffing at group homeowners who complain concerning the Padres’ hovering payroll.

“They all have the means for it,” Machado mentioned on his first day in camp. “To me, it’s just if they want to or if they want to win. So, Peter has shown an interest that he wants to win.”

And if that shakes up positions or egos, so be it.

“Hopefully it all works out, man,” Bogaerts mentioned. “It’s supposed to be a fun, special season. Hopefully the outcome is something really special.”

James Wagner contributed reporting.